COSTA RICA SOUTH &AMP; CENTRAL BIRDING TOUR

Tour Overview

* This tour is available for any dates of your choosing provided guide services and accommodations are available.

Our Costa Rica Southern Tour features a superb combination of subtropical and highland birding locales in Costa Rica, including Carara National Park, Osa Peninsula, the central highlands of the Talamanca Cordillera, and the middle elevation of the Caribbean slope. The tour has the potential of recording over 350 species in in 10 days. The best time to take this tour is during early dry season from January-March. During this time birds are in full breeding plumage and are most active. Accommodations are excellent except at Osa where they are comfortable but more basic.

The tour begins with a transfer from Alajuela near the international airport to the Pacific lowlands. A first stop near Orotina features stakeouts of Lesser Ground-Cuckoo and several owls with a local guide. The afternoon will feature a boat trip on the Tarcoles River and viewing of Scarlet Macaws and other birds around the lodge. The next day will be devoted to birding Carara National Park. The park features transitional forest where the ranges of many northern and southern specialties overlap. For this reason, Carara offers some of the best birding in Costa Rica. A transfer to Osa Peninsula features a birding stop near Quepos for localized swifts followed by an afternoon of birding near the lodge upon arrival. During two full days on Osa, numerous specialties including the endemic Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager will provide highlights of the tour. An early departure the last morning will feature a stop at a reliable site for Yellow-billed Cotinga while en route to the Talamanca highlands. A stop at Cerro de la Muerte should produce several high elevation species during the transfer. A full day will be spent birding the valley of San Gerardo de Dota, where Resplendent Quetzals are to be found along with many other highland specialties. While quetzals can sometimes be seen, often from a distance, near the lodge, they are best seen much closer on nearby fincas in the highlands. On the last morning in the highlands we'll visit one of those fincas to get excellent views of this fantastic species. The tour then continues to the Caribbean side for two nights stay near famed La Selva Biological Station. Much of one day will be spent birding within La Selva as well as nearby areas around Puerto Viejo. The last morning will be spent visiting a local guide who has conditioned Thicket Antpitta to appear at a feeding site on a private farm. That will be followed by birding some trails with Braulio Carrillo before returning to the lodge for lunch. That afternoon will be spent transferring back to Alajuela with a stop at La Paz Waterfall Gardens en route.